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Thursday, November 21, 2013

Creative Process from My Perspective

"Go
through the process" has become a life long personal and family
mantra.When wedon't know what the outcome of a situation is
going to be, we resign ourselves to the comfort of knowing - All we can do for
now is - Go through the process.

In my experience,
the design and development of a new product is a process that always takes
longer than I think it will. From the rush of the initial idea to the end product
is often a long way.

Its not always
possible to foreseeproblems, and I
often start out optimistic for a quick outcome.

No true creative wants to copy anyone. Even though I want to be original and
stretch my mind, there is a need for
some research.Basic skills can be
learnt. I don't want to waste time reinventing the wheel, but I also like to
have a fresh approach without pre-conceived ideas. So successful creative endeavors need a little bit of
expertise and a little bit of out the box thinking.

Prototyping
is an essential and valuable part of the making process for me.I am often amazed at what comes up in this
exercise. The encouraging hints of what's to come and the glaring glitches that
raise their head too.

As a
result I land up with a pile of process art pieces.The not quite perfect steps to the end
product, significant, sentimental and appealing in their own way.I usually hang on to them for a while.But for what? I have to honour them as a
vital part of the process and then be ruthless and chuck them out.

Here are some of the steps I worked through in a recent origami project:

I have learnt to value the process of thinking.When I hit a design problem, I stop making
and deliberately concentrate
on thinking
through options. Often taking a complete break, and coming back again later
brings fresh insight

The more
I make something, the better I get at it.There is always a growth in skill as time goes by. Sometimes when I see the progress I've made, I
relegate early production pieces into the prototype category.

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Love to live everyday life in an artisanal way.Intrigued by ideas, how-tos, the creative process and seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary. Single-origin coffee drinker, Durban-dweller, South African-born ENFP.